A federal judge in New York determined on Monday that Rudy Giuliani was in civil contempt, concluding that the former attorney for President-elect Donald Trump failed to respond sufficiently to inquiries from two Georgia election workers regarding a $148 million defamation claim.

This ruling represents a notable blow for Giuliani in the very federal district where he previously served as U.S. attorney.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman had instructed the former mayor of New York City to provide valuable items to the plaintiffs, which included a Mercedes Benz that once belonged to Lauren Bacall, an apartment in Manhattan, and an autographed baseball jersey from Joe DiMaggio.

However, attorneys for the election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea’ “Shaye” Moss, stated that Giuliani had failed to contribute “a single dollar” from his financial accounts to resolve the matter. He handed over the car without its title, left the apartment’s ownership showing his ex-wife, and did not return the jersey, as shown in court documents.

“He intentionally neglected to search for and provide documents relevant to the plaintiffs’ requests,” mentioned Aaron Nathan, the attorney representing the election workers.

The election workers maintained that Giuliani failed to disclose his assets despite being held liable for defamation over a year ago, as well as repeated warnings from the judge.

“It’s difficult to understand Mr. Giuliani’s stance in light of the evidence,” Nathan remarked in one court filing. “The Court has explicitly warned Mr. Giuliani that ‘failure to comply with the Turnover Order may lead to contempt sanctions.’”

At 80 years old, Giuliani has argued that the lawsuit has drastically disrupted his life, but he insists he has not “willfully disobeyed” any judicial orders.

“There has been considerable compliance,” Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, asserted in court on Monday. “He has not defied the court’s orders.”

Nonetheless, Judge Liman ruled Giuliani in contempt.

“His busy life and previous reliance on others cannot justify this lack of compliance,” Liman stated.

Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, criticized the opposing legal team, accusing them of pursuing the former prosecutor’s most valuable items in this dispute, which include the signed baseball jersey and his grandfather’s pocket watch.

“It’s disheartening to see our justice system being treated so lightly, with mock trials replacing legitimate hearings,” Goodman commented.

Giuliani did submit documents concerning his New York apartment located at 45 W. 66th St., but the ownership documents still list his ex-wife and he has not made efforts to transfer ownership, as claimed by the lawyers for the election workers.

While Giuliani claimed he couldn’t find the DiMaggio jersey, one of his former attorneys mentioned in a court session last November that it was in a storage unit on Long Island. However, a friend of Giuliani, Monsignor Alan Placa, testified that he had seen the framed jersey at Giuliani’s Palm Beach condo within the last two years.

Giuliani did provide 18 luxury watches to the election workers, but he omitted eight other watches that were mentioned in a bankruptcy filing that was dismissed in July. The missing brands included Shinola, Corium, Invicta, and Breitling, as noted in court documents.

Rudy Giuliani is currently involved in multiple legal issues, with the defamation case being just one aspect. This case stems from his unsubstantiated allegations of extensive fraud during the 2020 presidential election, which he promoted to support Donald Trump. Additionally, Giuliani faces criminal charges related to election interference in both Arizona and Georgia, and he has been disbarred in New York and Washington.

Giuliani is being sued for defamation by Freeman and Moss, who he falsely accused of illegally stuffing ballot boxes while overseeing the vote count at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. In his initial statement regarding the lawsuit, Giuliani suggested they were “passing around USB ports as if they were vials of heroin or cocaine.” However, Freeman and Moss clarified during a U.S. House hearing that what they were actually passing were ginger mints.

On January 10, Giuliani will attend another contempt hearing in federal court located in Washington, D.C. This follows allegations that he has continued to make defamatory claims against Freeman and Moss.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell is currently deliberating whether to find Giuliani in contempt due to statements he has made on his nightly podcast. He recently claimed that Freeman and Moss “never let me show the tapes that demonstrate them quadruple counting the ballots,” according to court documents.

(This article has been revised to add new details.)